NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday moved Delhi's Patiala House Court seeking permission to put Karti Chidambaram through narco analysis test on in the alleged INX media bribery case.
Special judge Sunil Rana said that the court would take the matter on March 9 along with two other applications seeking production warrants of Karti Chidambaram's chartered accountant S Bhaskaraman, arrested in the money laundering case, and co-accused Indrani Mukerjea.
On Tuesday, Karti's CBI custody was extended by three days till March 9 with the court saying that the extension of his remand was necessary to maintain continuity in the investigation to secure evidence to arrive at the truth.
The agency, which produced Karti on expiry of his five-day police custody before special judge Sunil Rana, had said though there was "substantial progress" in last four days into the investigation into the case, he was "not cooperating" and not parting with his phones passwords. To every question, he was saying that "I am politically victimised".
In a major setback to the Karti, son of former Union Minister and veteran Congress leader P Chidambaram, the Supreme Court had refused to grant him anticipatory bail in the alleged money laundering case. The apex court has also issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate on the PMLA case registered against him.
Deferring the case for further hearing on March 9, the top court declared that it will not provide any interim protection from arrest by the ED in the alleged money laundering case. This came a day after junior Chidambaram moved to the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of summons issued by the ED.
He was taken to the Byculla Central Jail on Sunday for further questioning in the bribery case by the CBI, who is probing the case.
Upon reaching the Byculla Central jail, Karti was made to face Indrani and Peter Mukerjea - the ex-directors of INX Media Ltd. Indrani Mukerjea had recently admitted before a magistrate that Karti had met her in a Delhi hotel and demanded USD 1 million in bribe for the FIPB clearance.
While being taken back to Delhi from Mumbai, Karti Chidambaram had, however, said that all allegations levelled against him are ''baseless and politically motivated.''
Karti is accused of allegedly receiving Rs 3.5 crore from the Mumbai-based INX Media, now known as 9X Media, for helping it get Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance in 2007 when it was run by Peter and Indrani - both accused in the Sheena Bora murder case.
On March 1, the Patiala House Court in Delhi had sent the junior Chidambaram to CBI custody for five days following which he was questioned for nearly seven hours by the CBI.
In a dramatic development in the INX Media case, Karti was arrested by the CBI from Chennai airport on February 28 on his return from abroad. After his arrest in Chennai, CBI officials took him to Delhi by the afternoon. He was taken to the CBI headquarters and then produced before a Duty Magistrate.
The arrest of Karti came nine months after the CBI registered an FIR against him on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, accepting gratification by corrupt or illegal means, influencing public servants and criminal misconduct.
